Investigation launched against Erdogan’s long-arm in Sweden: report

An investigation was launched against representatives of the Turkish state over espionage against the opposition circles including the sympathizers of the Gulen movement, according to Swedish paper, Metro on Thursday.

Turkey collects information and map people living in Sweden critical of the Turkish government and the first complaint was filed in mid-September, Metro said.

Ewamari Häggkvist, the prosecutor in charge said the investigation was launched on charges of unlawful intelligence and illegal mapping. The crime is also known as refugee espionage, according to the newspaper.

“We are at the beginning of an investigation,” said Ewamari Häggkvist avoiding naming any of the suspects for now.

If convicted, punishment may differ from one-year jail time to being announced as persona non-grata.

Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Following the failed putsch, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed the Gulen movement, a claim which the group denies.

The government’s post-coup emergency rule has not discriminated against any group critical of Erdogan in and outside Turkey with Kurdish minority, liberals, Gulenists and many other opposition circles victimized over broadened terror charges.

Diplomatic outposts and government-funded imams, meanwhile, are subject to investigation in many countries, particularly in Europe, over spying charges.